One More Time With Feeling
by chicksdigtheears
Summary: After not having been on the Island for 5 years, Molly Nova is surprised to see the state of Castanet.


"Sweet heart, I'm going to miss you so much." An aging woman said, tears threatening to fall from her bright green eyes.

"Mom, I promise I'll call everyday and write. Don't worry about me!" A young woman said, smiling weakly at her mother. Her name was Molly Nova. Around 19 years old, she was taking over her father's old farm, the one that had been abandoned when he died five years ago. It had always been her dream to work there. Ever since she was a little girl, spending summers at her father's home had been been the highlight of her life. She'd never forget the day the Mayor of Castanet called her and her mom, delivering the news that her father died. They attended a small funeral on the island and a reading of his will, which left the farm to Molly when she was 18 years old. This was the first time Molly would be returning since his funeral.

"I just...I love you Molly. I wish you Good luck." her mother said sadly, handing her one of her suitcases and smiling weakly.

"I love you too Mom." Molly returned, pulling her into a tight hug. Chocking bag tears, Ms. Nova waved goodbye and turned around, not wanting to stick around any longer. Molly waved goodbye and pulled her luggage toward the dock. Ticket in hand, she gazed out into the ocean, trying to see if Castanet was within view. Unfortunately, it was not.

"Welcome aboard miss." An old man with white hair and a large beard said. Molly nodded and said thank you. The boat ride would take around six hours, leaving Molly with enough time for a good nap. Shuffling around people, she found her way to the cabin and placed her bags on the seats next to her. There were quite a few people on the boat, only, they seemed to be leaving, not boarding. Next to her a blonde boy had his head buried in what seemed to be a cooking book. His hair was a bit unruly and he had bobby pins holding down some hair on his head. The young man had long legs and a skinny frame and Molly figured he was very tall. She tapped him on the shoulder and he gave her a cold stare.

"Uh. Do you happen to know why people are leaving the boat?" Molly asked less confident than before. The boy sighed.

"Castanet's not really worth anyone's time anymore. Soil's terrible, fires aren't burning, no wind, the sea has been fruitless. In fact, this may just be the last boat back to Castanet. Molly's eyes widened. Last boat? Great, now she was never going to get to send anything to her mom. Not produce, not letters not even the money she _needed_ to send her.

"I'm sorry, last boat to Castanet?" Molly said, incredulous. The boy rolled his eyes.

"Are you deaf or something? The sea's been extremely rocky. The Mayor's deemed it unsafe to sail any boats out to sea. The only reason he's letting this one come in is for some new farmer. I personally don't see how that's going to help the island, but the Mayor's his own case." the boy said grouchily. Molly's face paled. Oh god. This was terrible mistake, wasn't it? She cleared her throat.

"I'm the new farmer. My name's Molly Nova." she said nervously.

"Oh. Hm. Chase Green." He replied. He didn't say anything more after that exchange.

**()()()()**

Six hours later and a rocky ride later, the boat docked in Castanet. Dragging her luggage with her, she jumping onto the dock, happy to be a stable land again. She could kiss it if she weren't afraid of catching something.

"Miss Nova! It's been forever, hasn't it!" a man exclaimed, opening his arms up. Molly recognized the man to be the Mayor and gave him a small smile.

"Five years! I was I think fourteen the last time I was here." Molly said, taking in the town. It looked the same as it had before, except it was no longer teeming with life. Instead, a few shop owners lazily sat outside and talked to one another. When she was a kid, the shop owners used to be so busy, they had no time to talk outside. The streets were usually busy and everybody was happy. But now...the town was basically lifeless.

"As you can see the town has...degraded in quality over the years." The mayor said, leading her throughout town. That was an understatement. They passed the bar, the tailor shop and the photo shop, all closed for the afternoon. Molly wondered if it was like this every day. Finally, after a long, quiet walk, they arrived at the farm. Molly gasped, and began to feel sick. The house itself was a wreck. The stairs were rotting, the roof was falling off and the paint was chipping. The coop was in a better condition, but not by much. The roof was also falling off and the door barely closed. The barn was in the same condition as the coop and the field was full of weeds.

"His...his house. What happened." she said quietly, holding back her frustrations. The Mayor gulped.

"There was a huge storm, and over the years the house sort of...fell apart. The inside is completely livable though." The Mayor assured her. Molly didn't say anything. Instead, she sighed. This could just be the worst mistake of her life.

"Oh! Cain asked if you could stop by his ranch when you arrived. Something about a cow. I also suggest checking by Harmonica Town later. Well, good luck Molly." He said, departing. She could have sworn he said something under his breath. Taking in a deep breath, Molly unlocked the front door relieved to see that the Mayor was not lying about the livable part. Although the floors were dirty and dust was everywhere, it would do. It only needed some cleaning up after all. There was no time today though. Molly pushed her bags into a her small room and exited the house, locking the door behind her. She strode across the field, assessing the amount of work that needed to be done. Weeds grew in every direction, but tulips also sprang up around the parts of the field that were bare. Those seemed salvageable enough to sell. After a ten minute walk, Molly finally arrived at the Ranch, where Cain and his daughter Renee were tending to an animal. Molly remembered Renee as a quiet girl who liked to go fishing and play with her animals. She also used to have a huge crush on that kid Toby.

"Molly! Well I'll be damned, you're taking over you're father's farm aren't you?" Cain said as Renee stroked the cows head.

"Yep! It's a...a lot more work than I bargained for, I'll admit that."

"Saw the house didn't you?" Cain said, inhaling sharply.

"Unfortunately." Molly groaned.

"Well, when your father died his cow just gave birth, and I've been taken care of it's offspring. Your dad also had plenty of chickens which I'm more than willing to donate to you. Can't feed them all anyway what with the lack of wind." Cain said, sadness behind the last part.

"'Oh! Um, sure! What's the cow's name?" Molly said.

"Tinker. I'll throw in some feed, fodder and a brush for you. Still should be a milker in your dad's barn. How bout I drop the cow off later, since you probably have other stuff to take care of." Cain replied.

"Great! I have to stop by Marimba Farm and then Harmonica Town. The Mayor wants me to talk to some people I guess." Molly shrugged, waving good bye. Thankfully, Marimba farm was next to the ranch, so the walk wasn't too far.

"Craig! Craig you good for nothing ingrate! Get back here right now!" A woman's voice screeched. Just as she said that an angry, older looking man with sunken eyes stormed out of the store, slamming the door behind her. Oh good Goddess. Was she walking into a marital crisis?

"I'm going out for a while. Don't wait up." He said gruffly. Molly heard an angry shout and cautiously

walked into the store.

"Um. Hello." she squeaked.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT." The woman snapped. Hold up. Was that...was that Ruth Cotton? She looked so much older...and so unhappy.

"I, uh, I'm taking over my dad's old farm and I wanted to buy some seeds." Molly said, still quiet.

"Well, you're in luck. I have a few seeds for sale. Not like there's many any more." She handed her some turnip, cabbage and lettuce seeds. Molly handed her the money.

"Good luck growing those in that soil." Ruth grumbled as Molly left the store.

**()()()()**

"So, Nova! What's it like being back in town!" Kathy asked Molly. Molly had spotted the blonde hair girl walking outside the bar, obviously waiting for it to open for the evening. The two had been friends when Molly lived here over the summers. They talked a lot even after Molly went back to the city.

"It freaking sucks. Everybody's so sad. I walked into Ruth arguing with Craig and Cain's going on about how the lack of wind's created a shortage of food for the animals." Molly complained. Kathy pursed her lips.

"Yeah. Things have been rough lately. We had a really weird shortage of coffee beans in the fall. I think it has to do with the rumor that the Harvest Goddess's tree is dying." Kathy replied. Molly remembered stories about the Harvest Goddess. She remembered her dad telling her all about how the Harvest Goddess kept this island alive through the bells. She suddenly wondered if the tales were true.

"That sucks." Molly moaned, leaning her head back.

"Yeah. So how are the city boys?" Kathy asked, smiling. Molly rolled her eyes and grinned.

"I've only had one boyfriend in the city Kathy." she replied.

"Really? I am positive you can do so much better than that." Kathy laughed.

"Thanks for the confidence boost, but the guy set me off from dating for the rest of my life." Molly said.

"What, are you going to become a celibate now cuz one guy broke your heart?" Kathy replied, rolling her eyes.

"Not a celibate...just not interested in dating right now. Plus, the farm's going to kill any chance of a social life." Molly returned.

"Well, that's true. Anyway, I'm going to head inside, come back later. You know the mayor's ban on drinking right? Well before the whole 'no more boats thing' I managed to get someone to smuggle back some booze for the bar. It's for emergencies only, and trust me, this farm counts as an emergency." Kathy said, waving good bye. Molly laughed along with her too. Now she had to go back home and plant her crops. She would meet up with Kathy later.

**()()()()**

"Molls! Hey!" Kathy greeted her as she walked into the bar.

"Oh man this is great! I can talk to you all night!" Kathy said.

"Don't you have work?"Molly asked. Kathy waved her off.

"No one comes in here much anyway! Sit down, I'll have Chase make you something. On the house because you're technically new here!" Kathy said happily, setting down a tray in her hands. Chase? As in the Chase she met on the boat. It's not like it was improbable, Molly just wasn't expecting to run into him again.

"Oh Farmer girl. Nice to see you." Chase said sarcastically.

"You already met her?" Kathy asked, puzzled.

"We met on the boat." Molly said flatly. It suddenly clicked to Molly that he was the one who had smuggled in the alcohol. Well, she was at least grateful for that.

"Okay Kathy, you promised me booze, not a meal." Molly said.

"Oh right. Just give me a second, incoming customer. Why don't you talk to Chase in the meanwhile?" Kathy said before jogging off. Chase rolled his eyes, as if he'd rather choke to death than talk to her.

"Hey is there a reason you're so mean?" Molly asked, narrowing her eyes. The blonde boy laughed.

"That's just my personality. And anyway, you should be grateful. I'm the one-"

"Who brought back the booze, yeah, I know." Molly finished, rolling her eyes. He glared at her.

"Do you want something to drink or not?" He replied. Molly sighed.

"Yes."

"Okay then. I'm not cooking for you by the way, the kitchen's closed." Chase said, gabbing a glass for her.

"I'm not hungry." That was a lie. Molly hadn't eaten anything since breakfast today. She was hoping that Inn opened early enough for her to order something to eat in the morning.

"Soooooo. What else has been going on in the town?" Molly inquired. Chase blinked, scrunching up his nose.

"I already told you."

"Yeah but I mean. Is there anything else happening around town?"

"Nothing. Literally nothing else is happening." Chase said, now annoyed.

"Jeez I was just asking a question." Before Chase could reply with anything else Kathy came back and put her arm around Molly's shoulders.

"So are you guys best buds yet?" Kathy asked, grinning.

"If anything, we've regressed further than you can ever imagine." Chase replied dryly.

"Don't be like that Chasey-poo." Molly mocked in a baby voice. Kathy giggled and he gave her an icy stare.

"I have the right mind to poison your drink."

"And I have the right mind to punch you in the face pretty boy." Molly replied. Chase grumbled and hanged her her drink.

**()()()()**

Four glasses of alcohol later and Molly was starting to feel a little bit tipsy. The bar was about to close and seeing as she lived there, Kathy had entrusted Chase to get Molly home safe.

"Why am I doing this?" he groaned as Molly tumbled in the street.

"Because Kathy is your BFF?" Molly slurred.

"She is not my friend and if the Mayor sees you you're going to get us all in trouble. So please, shut up and try to walk straight." Chase growled. Molly pouted.

"Can you carry me, I'm so tired." she sighed.

"I probably couldn't pick you up if I tried." Chase said bitterly.

"I don't weigh that much. Come on pleeeeeeeeeeeeease." Molly whined.

"If it shuts you the hell up fine. Get on my back." Chase said. Molly smiled and hopped on Chase's back. The young man staggered a bit before regaining his balance. He wouldn't admit that she actually wasn't as heavy as he thought she would be. After a few minutes of stumbling around, Chase and Molly finally arrived back at her house.

"Thank-" Molly was interrupted by her own hiccup and giggled.

"Thanks grumpy pants." she giggled. Chase rolled his eyes.

"Alright. Don't roll in your choke in your own vomit." Chase said stoically before leaving her house. Pushing the key into the lock, Molly kicked off her shoes and sighed. She headed to her bedroom, happy to see that the radiator was working. Before she could go to sleep, however, someone cleared their throat.

"Hey lady! You're supposed to help me save the Harvest Goddess!" a fairy like creature demanded.

That was when Molly passed out.


End file.
